Volodymyr Muntyan

Volodymyr Fedorovych Muntyan (Володимир Федорович Мунтян, Владимир Фёдорович Мунтян, Vladimir Muntean; born 14 September 1946) is a Soviet and Ukrainian midfielder of the 1960s and 1970s. Muntyan is considered to be one of the best and most talented players to ever represent Dynamo Kyiv and Soviet Union. He is also the only player apart from Oleg Blokhin (his teammate in the 1970s) who has won 7 Soviet championships. His brother Viktor Muntyan is also a former professional football player.

Early life
A son of an ethnic Romanian plant worker and a Ukrainian nurse, Muntyan became interested in acrobatics and competed successfully in Kyiv's citywide competition, winning accolades in his age category. His family eventually relocated to live near a professional soccer grounds in Kyiv, where young Muntyan and his friends would hang out, acting as ball boys to the elders. While once juggling a ball, he was approached by a soldier, who asked him if he was interested in taking up football as a sport. Muntyan said yes and was taken to Mikhail Korsunsky, who was a famous local children's coach at the time. He quickly recognised Muntyan's potential.

Youth years
Due to the boy's natural talent, he was included in Kyiv's youth team with people like Semen Altman and Anatoly Byshovets (both coaches now). After a Spartakiada match between the Kyiv and Moscow teams, which Kyiv won, Dynamo Kyiv youth coach Mykhaylo Koman offered young Muntyan to come to a training session with the senior team the next day at 11:00. The young boy turned up outside the ground, but was so scared to see his idols Valery Lobanovsky, Andriy Biba, that he hid behind a tree and didn't make the team bus. However his friend Anatoly Byshovets helped him to get over the fear and eventually he turned up to a training session.

Early career
Muntyan joined the Dynamo Kyiv team as a 15-year-old, when the main team coach was Victor Maslov. Despite weighing only 60 kg (9.5 stones) and being only 170 cm in height, he was encouraged to play and his skills were further enhanced by the training. When five of then current squad left to join 1966 Soviet football team for the World Cup, Dynamo Kyiv managed to win a double (championship and the cup) with Muntyan stepping in from the reserves as one of the main players.

Career statistics

 * The statistics in USSR Cups and Europe is made under the scheme "autumn-spring" and enlisted in a year of start of tournaments

Honours
Dynamo Kyiv
 * UEFA Cup Winners Cup: 1975
 * UEFA Super Cup: 1975
 * USSR Championship (7): 1966, 1967, 1968, 1971, 1974, 1975, 1977; runner-up 1965, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1976
 * USSR Cup: 1966, 1974; runner-up 1973
 * USSR Super Cup runner-up: 1977

Soviet Union
 * UEFA Euro: runner-up 1972; fourth place 1968

Individual
 * Ballon d'Or 23rd: 1969
 * Ukrainian Footballer of the Year: 1970
 * Soviet Footballer of the Year: 1969
 * ADN Eastern European Footballer of the Season: 1969